Processing Friendship
by Floreal
Summary: A small gift prompts Legion to go on a small quest of discovery. Rated T to be safe.


Author's Notes  
This story was written for my English 11 course. I had to rush the story a bit due to time limits, but I'm hoping reviews and constructive criticism can help me polish it. In other words, I need opinions! My grammar is a bit rusty and some parts are rushed. So if anyone out there is willing to edit my story with me, I would be immensely grateful.

* * *

Well, this was... unusual.

Legion stared at the the scrupulously wrapped package before him, its flashlight-like eye blinking once as it attempted to register and assess this puzzling situation.

"Well, aren't you going to accept it?"

Shepard's voice penetrated the geth's consciousness and it lifted its round head up to hers. "Shepard-Commander, we do not understand this human gesture you're displaying; is this an organic ceremony?" Legion asked, the panels on its head flapping upwards, expressing confusion.

The commander did not know whether to break into hysterical laughter or sigh in exasperation. In the end, she ended up doing something in between. A choked laugh escaped her throat while she rubbed her neck awkwardly, thinking how and in what way could she explain this.

Generally, Shepard found it easy, though not always effortless, to get along with most of the crew members she's recruited on her ship. She's even gone out of her way to help them settle personal issues. Whether it be tracking down a traitor, saving a family member, or even partake in a ritual into adolescence, Shepard has done them all.

At least, she thought she had.

Unfortunately, nothing in her N7 military training had prepared her for this predicament, nor did the handbook given to her by the Alliance mention anything appropriate. The harsh reality was, Shepard was used to resolving problems through means of battle, and now, she was stuck.

"It's not an organic ceremony, Legion. I'm giving this to you as a gift, because we're friends."

"Friends." Legion repeated, its tone apathetic.

"Yes... friends."

The tense silence seemed to hang for eternity before Legion finally decided to take the package from the commander's now stiff hands.

"Thank you, though we do not know how to express our gratitude."

"That won't be necessary," Shepard replied hastily, an edge of panic to her voice. Then worrying she had offended the geth, her pale features softened and she managed a tired but not insincere grin, before turning and walking out of the dimly lit AI Core where Legion was stationed.

* * *

Even with Legion's limited knowledge of organic customs, instincts told it that this "gift" was precious. Legion gingerly tore at the vibrant paper which revealed a simple black box, and upon opening it, the geth's head panels widened in surprise: the box contained dog tags with its name on it.

Legion scrutinized it, turning and examining the dog tags as if it were some sort of ancient artifact recovered from a ruin. The borders of it were highlighted with the same brilliant red on Shepard's old N7 armor chest plate that Legion was wearing right now. And for some unknown reason,the urge to wear the dog tags overcame Legion.

All of the geth's panicking 1,183 programs tried to search for an absolute answer to the bizarre desire to wear the dog tags. The search came up with nothing.

"No data found," Legion said, if not to anyone but itself. For now though, Legion ignored the disturbing lack of motive and allowed the gift to dangle harmlessly against its chest. Suddenly, the light on Legion's head flashed, and the construct went towards the engineering bay full of purpose.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Creator Zorah."

Shepard had allowed the crew some free time while she and Miranda picked up some things for tomorrow's celebration of their victory. Seizing the opportunity, the geth had asked her to accompany him to the wards. For what reasons, she did not know.

Tali studied their surroundings nervously, her thumbs twiddling. She was determined to make her and the geth seem as inconspicuous as possible. But even with her best intentions at heart, her plan clearly backfired since they were getting no shortage of stares since their arrival at the Citadel. Now, standing in the middle of a human flower shop in the wards, the amount of attention that was focused on them was reaching its peak.

A quarian and a geth, for them to not be noticed required a miracle.

Contrary to his organic companion, Legion's stance was more relaxed, completely clueless as he scanned the various types of flowers. He rested most of his weight on his right leg and his arms folded across his chest. It was very human thing to do, and indeed, the source of this habit was obviously Shepard, as she was the only one on the Normandy who regularly did this.

"We need to go soon; shore leave is only one hour long,"Tali said. The majority of Legion's programs were contemplating the options available, and as a result, Tali's warning went unheeded. Legion's eye followed the rows of plants until finally settling on one that caught its attention.

A terrified human at the checkout gaped in shock as the unlikely duo made their way over. And when Tali pulled up a credit chit, he yelped in fear.

"Please... take it! Take anything you want from the store, just leave me alone!"

Angered, Tali lashed out, "We're not here to rob you, you bosh'tet!"

"Come on, let's get out of here." She passed the credit chit through the scanner against the human's protests, and grabbing Legion by the arm, she half-dragged and half-stomped her way out of the shop.

In their haste to leave, they almost forgot what they came for in the first place. Tali stopped dead in her tracks, her cheeks aflame with embarrassment, and at that moment, she was very glad that her face was masked. Thankfully, Legion had already gone back for the rose, leaving Tali rooted to her spot, chastising herself for acting so irrationally.

As they made their way out of the wards, Tali was once again aware of the number of eyes on them and inwardly wonder what made her agree to this.

* * *

The turian stood rooted to his spot, utterly dumbfounded with an incredulous look plastered onto his face.

Of course he knew the event that took place five minutes ago appeared to be real, still, he had to check just to be sure. He pinched himself hard and winced. Oh yes, what happened definitely did happen.

Garrus had questions and there was only one person who might have answers: Commander Shepard.

The entrance to her quarters weren't locked, but Shepard still found it irritating when someone entered before her given permission. She spun in her leather chair, eager to scold the insubordinate that had entered her lair.

"Didn't I say to always knock before you... " her sentence was cut short as she stared at the ridiculous sight standing in front of her.

Garrus Vakarian, sniper extraordinaire and turian vigilante, was holding a delicate rose, a sharp contrast to the rough material of his gloves and his character. He shifted his weight from side to side, too embarrassed to meet her gaze.

"Garrus, another one this soon?"

The turian let out a deep aggressive growl. "You have some explaining to do." He was slightly annoyed at the obvious mirth on her face, and also at the amount of power she held over him. Despite the fact that they have been courting for a while, Shepard was a puzzle the turian has yet to solve, and he knew she was using it to her full advantage right now.

"It isn't what you think," he continued. "The other day Legion came by and he gave me this." Garrus gestured at the rose in his hand with one of his talon. "Said something about this being a token of our friendship. And according to Tali, he had even dragged her along to buy the rose with him when we stopped at the Citadel."

Shepard was glad that Legion and Tali were beginning to get along; conflicts between their people had created antinomisity with the two of them. But she was also bothered by the fact that he had picked a rose to express his friendship. The geth was clearly clueless.

"All I did was give him something to show my appreciation for the work he's done. Maybe he has feelings for you."

"Spirits, no!" It took a moment before Garrus realized that she was merely making light of the situation. He cursed under his breath. "This is serious, Shepard. Legion's not himself lately. He's been asking everyone on the Normandy what friendship is."

"Umm. He did ask what I wanted in return, but I didn't want to complicate things."

"Shepard, it's not like you to not finish what you started."

"I know," she admitted, biting on her lower lip. "This is foreign territory, Garrus, and I sure as hell don't know how to cross it."

"I'm sure you'll figure out something. You always do."

Despite his awkward demeanor, her partner seemed to have a knack of saying the right things at the right time. Shepard gave Garrus an appreciative smile, and once again she was the self-assured commander that was in control. Regaining her composure, she stood up slowly but not without authority . With a playful glint in her eye, and her smirk back in place, Shepard strode towards him confidently.

Garrus gulped. "I'll be going now. If you need me, I'll be calibrating in the main battery room." He took one of her hands in his, and gently curled her fingers around the rose.

When Shepard was sure he had left, she sank back into her chair and sighed, the flower dangling between her fingers. Even if what Garrus said was true, coming up with an actual plan was another story. She will just have to wait until tomorrow, after the celebration is over, to address this issue.

* * *

It was 1800 when the party began in the mess hall.

People's conversations were cut short by a loud tapping noise. They turned to see Shepard waiting patiently on a makeshift podium in front of the tables. She made sure to make eye contact with each of them before she began.

"Our mission with the collectors was a complete success, and I couldn't have done it without you guys.".The crew of the Normandy shouted enthusiastically. Pats on the backs were exchanged and several whoops went of. Shepard held up a hand to subdue the excited audience.

A wistful smile played at her lips as she looked down somberly. "We've lost some good people. It's up to us to live our lives to the fullest for them and honor their sacrifice."

"But tonight, we celebrate our victory in the name of those who had fallen!" The loud cheering resumed, and this time Shepard did not stop them.

"Everyone, it's been an honor to serve as your commander."

As if on cue, the music resumed and the crew returned to their interrupted chatter. Shepard waded her way smoothly through the crowd towards Sergeant Gardner

"Give me the strongest we have."

"Yes, Commander." Gardner fished around in the cupboards before coming back with the drink. "Pure Ryncol," he said.

Shepard stared at the dubiously colored alcohol, suddenly feeling hesitant.

"That can't be good for you."

Shepard turned to see Garrus situated on her left. He must have been subtle because she did not even notice his presence. His mandibles were slanting upwards, which she guessed was the equivalent of a turian grin.

"I can drink whatever I want."

"Your boyfriend says otherwise," Garrus snarled, snatching the ryncol from her hands.

"Hey, you give that back before I-"

Click!

While the couple bickered, Legion had been taking pictures of them and analyzing. He stood in the corner of the mess hall, the programs in his mind matching the interaction between them to what Officer Vakarian had said: Friends are people who stop you from doing things you would regret.

"Oh yeah!" A large shout erupted near the tables and Legion's attention shifted to the group of humans playing poker.

"Ken, don't you get sick of winning?"

"He's just happy to get his winning streak again after Shepard had defeated him."

"Hey! I was going easy on her."

"Sure," Tali remarked sarcastically. She gave a knowing glance to Engineer Gabriels and the both of them started laughing.

Thane's voice echoed in Legion's consciousness as he observed. "Friends are people who enjoy each other's company while they can."

For the rest of the night, the crew of the Normandy rejoiced while the geth silently pondered upon something so foreign and alien to him.

* * *

Beep Beep Beep.

With a start, Shepard sat up abruptly then groaned in pain. The first thing she was aware of was that she was not in her quarters. Instead, she was situated right beside a sleeping pod with a thin blanket thrown over her. The mess hall was littered with plates, garbage, and the bodies of drunk crew members. On her right, laid her turian pillow, snoring away with his arm wrapped possessively around her waist. It became apparent to her that they were both so drunk they didn't even make it to the sleeping pods.

So she did end up winning the argument afterwards. She rubbed her forehead in an attempt to be rid of the constant pounding in her temples while yesterday's events slowly came back to her.

Shepard remembered snatching the alcohol from Garrus's hands, but after that...nothing. Now, the smug pride she felt was being replaced by a sense of dread.

Oh Shepard, what have you done?

"Shepard-Commander."

She looked up to see a Legion standing there with something in his hand. Upon closer examination, it appeared to be a datapad.

"We believed we have discovered what "friendship" is," Legion said as he knelt down beside her.

Shepard raised a dubious brow at him. "Care to explain?"

"We would prefer to let this answer your questions."Legion handed her the device and she pressed a button to activate it.

The datapad opened to reveal a collage of some sort. Multiple images of yesterday's party were strewn together in an orderly fashion and each of these images had captions underneath. She squinted her eyes to see the first image.

The first one was of her and Garrus fighting over the bottle of ryncol, and although he looked quite furious at the time, Shepard knew he was doing it for her own good. The captions underneath paraphrased her thoughts. Huh, maybe she was not giving enough credit to the geth.

She swiped the at the screen, eager to see more. There was a picture of the engineers laughing while playing cards, and judging from their facial expression, they were obviously teasing Ken again. Another one contained Zaeed making a shooting motion with his hand while talking to Jacob. Without a doubt, Shepard knew he was talking about his old favorite assault rifle, Jessie.

"I stand corrected, Legion. It looks like you know what you're talking about," Shepard said, handing the device back to him. The geth however, made no move to retrieve the datapad.

Shepard frowned. "Don't you want this back?"

"We have no use of these data. We suggest you keep it, Commander." Legion stood up and walked away.

She stared after his back, puzzled. To think that the geth would go so much trouble putting all this information up together only to abandon it. She turned on the datapad again, browsing idly until she reached the last image and stopped. Her eyes widened in surprise.

To Shepard-Commander, we express our gratitude. Please accept this as a token of our friendship.


End file.
